RESEARCH PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DEPRIVATION. (BASED ON WORKING PAPERS AND SUGGESTIONS CONTRIBUTED BY PARTICIPANTS IN THE RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DEPRIVATION).

IN ITS SIMPLEST FORM, THE PROBLEM OF EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DEPRIVATION REDUCES TO ONE OF HOW CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN DISADVANTAGED BY THEIR ENVIRONMENT CAN BE BROUGHT UP TO THE EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF MORE FORTUNATE CHILDREN. MANY APPROACHES ARE POSSIBLE. AMONG THE VARIABLES WHICH MUST BE STUDIED IN DEPTH ARE--THE STUDENT, HOME ENVIRONMENT, PEER GROUP, THE LEARNING TASK, THE TEACHER, SCHOOL ORGANIZATION, COMMUNITY, AOD SOCIETY IN GENERAL. THE MANY PROBLEMS POSED SHOULD BE SOLVED QUICKLY, SINCE THEY ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY DANGEROUS TO THE WELFARE OF OUR SOCIETY. THREE APPROACHES TO ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEMS OF EDUCATION AND CULTURAL DEPRIVATION ARE GIVEN. THE FIRST POINTS OUT THE CONFUSION OF TERMS WHICH RESULTS WHEN THE LEVEL OF DISCOURSE IS NOT CLARIFIED. THE FRAMEWORK DESCRIBES THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT AS A SYSTEM. THE INTERRELATED ANALYTIC ELEMENTS ARE CULTURE, THE INSTITUTION, AND THE INDIVIDUAL. THE SECOND PROPOSAL IS BASED ON THE VIEW THAT MOST FORMS OF LEARNING BEYOND THE FIRST TWO OR THREE YEARS OF THE CHILD'S LIFE DEPEND UPON TRANSFER FROM PREREQUISITE HABITS AND SKILLS. SCHOOL TASKS SHOULD BE BASED UPON HABITS AND SKILLS WHICH COMPRISE LEARNING ABILITIES OF THE CULTURALLY DEPRIVED, APPROPRIATE EDUCATIONAL METHODS SHOULD BE DEVELOPED. THE THIRD APPROACH DESCRIBES THE FUNCTIONING INTELLIGENCE OF THE CHILD IN TERMS OF ITS COMPONENTS. THE VARIABLES ARE RELATED TO PARTICULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CULTURALLY DEPRIVED. MAJOR PROBLEMS AND MORE SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS ARE SUGGESTED. THESE INCLUDE THE RELATION SHIP OF--HOME ENVIRONMENT, SOCIAL CLASS, AND PEER GROUPS, LANGUAGE COGNITION AND LEARNING, PERSONALITY AND MOTIVATION, TESTING AND DIAGNOSIS. UNDER "SCHOOL PROGRAMS AND PERSONNEL," SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH ARE MADE RELATING TO CURRICULA, TEACHERS, AND SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONS.